We all have read about online success stories
where someone sets up a website and instantly
becomes screamingly rich. But the reason we
read about this amazing overnight success is simply
this: it is such an unusual occurrence that it
is newsworthy. All the millions of websites
that perform poorly or merely adequately never make
news.

It is, however, possible for an individual
to make some money with a website or blog.
But it is unlikely to be millions of dollars
and it is equally unlikely to happen
overnight.

I know. I have almost a dozen
websites and can tell you that it has taken
years of work to build and maintain
them. The first one was launched in 1998. My
sites provide a modest supplemental
income--which is very nice now that I am
retired.

What kind of online business are you going to
launch?

The first thing to do is decide what you are going to
do online. Internet businesses generally
break down into two categories:

1) You sell stuff and the money you get paid from the
stuff you sell is your income. An example of this
kind of online business would be selling collectable
china online at Ebay. Or selling boxes of peanut
brittle you make from your grandmother's treasured
recipe on a website you set up. Or

2) you become a publisher of an informational blog or
website and the ads on your site become your source of
income. The
Huffington Post,Hot Gardens, and
this website are examples of online publishing which
rely on advertising for revenue.